Process of reducing vanadium sulfid.



. we rented 1 new And useful L einenls in l room: of ,l'leilo' u:Iona-slum Sulliil, of which 2 i llowing peoilieaiion.

v ling application Serial No. 36(LT12, filed .llairch 5, 1907, of whichthe present appl lion is El. diw sion, 1 have de scrilmd and claimedprocess of reducing; metallic SllllldS coi'iiprising suliid ores,concei'ili'ules, n'iilale or compounds, and spec-ii ically the sullid ofmolybdenum or molyhde nile, h means of silicon or silicon. alloys.

The present application relates in a specilio enihodimeni; of saidprocess as applied to lhe rednciion. of the sull'id or sullid ui'vS ofmini-- diuin, for which the process pres-1 1i s p: ticuhlr ndvuntagl'iereinnl'lzer sol forth,

The usual eon'nnereizil ineihod of produrw in; Yzinuilium, go; ally inthe form ol ferrovzinudiuna, ooiupris s two steps, vnnmlinite,roscoelile, or other vanadium ore beingfirst treated in order lo ohl'alntherefrom rein-- lively pure vanadium oxid or metallic vanadates, such15 those of the alkali or uhmline earth iueluls or of iron. and suchmini being then Subjected to the l((lU('lilI notion of carhonorul'uininiui'n, or to the eleel rol 'tic action of the electric current.Tilllilllllllll are roasted to convert the V3112);- diuni lo theoxidized sizzle. and sulisequently treated for the extru-clion ofvunznlium oxid or production oi? metallic Yanzulzites.

l hurl: found that eouinu-ri-izilly pure vii-- ele and silicon or analloy of r, living proleruhly employed in fillilSiililllilllyl'hcproporlions gulur of the. sullid or ore, lluequation ussuining theproduction oi silicon S'Ullill, Sifi .l um nmyhe produi-cil hysmeltingin an reqiiirml lo combine will, the

bul to produce (JUlll'IlKIT'li'lllY pure metals or of Knitters Patent.

\ in rose a product low Sullid ores of WW i i. A lrrmlw ii ME ii -loinSerial No. 367619 in ng al. 170111, comprising either silicon. We ii; Aivin i) ii on dun mom. in u mom iusili m suittrui' l'uinncemhich sh! midpreferably,

n eurhon is required, he provided with Q hearth nor l ning oi" materialother than carbon. ll; not essential that the proporlion of silicon tosulfur should. he preeisel that indiculed h theory, for in case aproduct very low in. silicon is reouired the suifid should ierlihl r beused in ex oil such pro i oriion:vmoreus u certain proportion of siliconis permissible in the product an excess of" the silicon orsiliconbeering: reducing agent may be used. The operation is preferablyrendered continuous in character .y adding l'resh portions of the chargefrom time to time and withdrawing the, product as desired.

11y smelting the charge in a close elnnnber and protecting the produrlsfrom. oxidizing influences the sulifid oi silicon may be collected, hutin open smelling furnaces both of the constiluenl elenienl's of thesul'fid uniie Will] oxygen, 'ielding silica in a 5 ate 0% minutesuhdixision and sulfur dioxid; these products may he collected andutilized as dosireil.

in the prm'luc'llion ol' the ulli'iys of vanw diuni with iron, nickeland the likev 1. may incorporate iron, nicko or other metal with lhecharge preparml .lor the TGdUQ L lUll of vanudium, or I '|n:i im1'olucethe desired proh-oi'L the silicon only possible to omit lhe l havelouinl than, commercially pure oi vanadium may he produced by filll Q'slillkl lire oi ore in operation. the sullid, and :l $lllUUl1-l'wfL!' umSllllill with a ilivon alloy, such as i portions of these metals intothe lurna e at any time during the operul'ion; or the metiron or nickel,for exzin'iple, may be reduced from their compounds simultaneously wiihthe reduction of the vanadium Without interfering Willi the process.

By the use of this direct process it is not usual roasting and M herpreliminary opcrnlions on suhid ores,

alloys without the previous treatments genrally employed for the removalof silicious mulvriul, wilh which rhese ores are associ ale-d. Forexample, from ihe important ieruvilm ores of vanadium, in which theViiiizulium exists as ii, sullill or mixture of suliids zlSSnHlIll'Wlwith a. (ai i'isiiloralile proportion of #ilicious mutter, i haw lounil.thzzl conuner- (Zlllll pure lerro-vunm nu only he produced by directSlllfilill'lg in presence of iron or ores of iron wiili silicon orsilicon alloys.

I claim: 1. The process of reducing vanadium sulhd which consistsdnreacting thereon with-sili con. v

. 2. The process of reducing vanadium sulfid which consists in reactingthereon with a silicon alloy. 7

3. The process of reducing vanadium sulfid which consists in reactingthereon with ferrowhich consists in resolving thereon with llG'l'liU-silicon in substantially the proportion re quirod to unite with thesulfur of the suliid. 6. The continuous process of reducing venadiunlsulfid which. consists in smelting a 20 mixture of said sulfid. andsilicon, adding fresh portions of the charge and withdrewing the productas desired.

In testimony whereof, I sill my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK M. BECKET.

ltnesses J. W. H. RANDALL, CARLETON F. Biiowx

